


Welcome Home

by darkest_nights_will_end



Series: Hollingstwins [10]
Category: Degrassi, Degrassi the Next Generation, Degrassi: Next Class
Genre: Fluff, Gen, No Angst, Reunions, Set During #Riseandgrind, Sibling Fluff, Sibling Love, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 07:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8277827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkest_nights_will_end/pseuds/darkest_nights_will_end
Summary: Hunter comes home from the hospital and is reunited with Frankie.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hollingstwins is back!
> 
> I've been so swamped with school and work, but I promise, I'm writing every chance I get!
> 
> Thank you for anyone who had read, reviewed, or left kudos on this series. It's greatly appreciated!

Hunter had a genuine smile on his face for the first time in months. Today was the day. He  _ finally  _ got to go home.

 

Over the past few months, so much had changed. At first, Hunter had hated his family, pissed off that they were sending him away to a place for crazy people. But as time had gone on, Hunter had become grateful to them. Now, he felt the best he had in a long time. 

 

He waited excitedly for his family to come, checking the clock hanging on the wall every 15 seconds. Despite how beneficial his stay in the hospital had been, he was anxious to just  _ go home _ . To eat breakfast with his family, to walk to classes with his friends, and to just  _ be normal.  _ Or, at least, as normal as he could be. Hunter wasn’t done with his recovery process by any means, but he was pleased that he had made enough progress to be able to continue to work on himself at home. 

 

Luckily, Hunter didn’t have to wait long. Right on time, his mother and Miles walked through the doors, smiles plastered on both their faces. It was clear that they were just as happy to be bringing home Hunter as he was to  _ go _ home. 

 

His mother approached him first, wrapping her arms around her son. Hunter couldn’t help but feel guilty. The last time she’d hugged him, he had been in the beginning stages of recovery, and he’d completely ignored how much she cared about him, and how hard it had been for her. Hunter returned her hug, determined to make sure she knew he held no resentment towards her.

 

“Oh, I’m so proud of you, Peanut!” She exclaimed, and Hunter resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the dreaded nickname he shared with his sister. Instead, he let it go, knowing how elated his mother was to finally have all three of her children back home.

 

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, smiling at her as the two separated. Diana stepped back and allowed Miles to take her place, following in her footsteps as he also gave his little brother a hug. 

 

Over the past few months, Miles had truly made an effort to be a better brother. With their dad not around too often, he felt the need to step up and be somewhat of a father figure to both his siblings. Hunter felt like he owed Miles his life. His older brother was the first one to know something was wrong, and had he given up on Hunter instead of getting him the help he needed, who knows what he would have done next.

 

“Thank you,” Hunter said, his voice nearly a whisper, as he hugged Miles. He didn’t need to say anything more, both of them knew what he meant. Miles squeezed just a bit tighter as he responded. He didn’t care about looking unmanly, his little brother was finally returning home with him, with  _ them _ , and that was all he cared about in the moment. 

 

“I’m glad you’re coming home.”

 

“Yeah. Me too.” Hunter pulled away, looking around, his face dropping when he saw one very important key member of his family missing. 

 

“She’s just finishing setting up for the party at home, but she can’t wait to see you. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect for your much anticipated return,” Miles assured him, as if reading his mind. Hunter nodded, excited to not only be home, but to be reunited with Frankie. She had visited him in the hospital, but it wasn’t the same as sitting on the couch, watching movies, or comparing and trading comics in their rooms.

 

“Can we go?” Hunter asked eagerly, and his mother nodded, a laugh escaping her at the enthusiasm her youngest son was displaying. This was who Hunter used to be, before his world had come crashing around him.

 

Diana signed her son out, and after thanking and saying goodbye to his doctors, Hunter stepped out of the psychiatric center for the final time. Miles allowed him shotgun with no argument, and Hunter used the ride home to catch up with his mother and brother, but the whole time, his thoughts were on seeing his twin.

 

Would things be different? This had been the first time the two had been separated, and it had taken a toll on Hunter. He hadn’t realized just how much he would miss his sister until it was too late. Sure, she visited him frequently, but it wasn’t the same. 

 

The sight of the placed he’d called home for years filled Hunter’s heart with joy. Diana barely had time to park the car before Hunter was bolting out, taking in the familiar sights. Everything was just as he remembered it, which calmed his nerves. He had worried that everything would be unrecognizable, or worse, that he would forget, but luckily that wasn’t the case. 

 

Now that he was home, Hunter had one thing on his mind. Or rather- one person. 

 

* * *

 

 

Frankie was in the living room, nearly bouncing in excitement. With everything that was going wrong in her life, it was nice that  _ finally,  _ something positive was happening. On her face was a permanent smile, as she counted down the moments until Hunter would be home. 

 

She felt such a sense of pride for her brother. He'd been to hell and back, but now, he had something to show for it. He accepted help, and although it took a while, and had taken a toll on the whole family, it was one of the best things Frankie could have asked for him. 

 

Frankie had silently watched her twin through his recovery process. She still remembered vividly the first time she'd visited, when he'd freaked out and tried to escape. She had been terrified at the time. That person wasn't her brother. He was somebody else, just occupying his body. 

 

_ But now. _

 

The last few times Frankie had visited had put her nerves to rest. Hunter was smiling, laughing, and was genuinely happy to see her. She felt much more at ease, for his sake rather than her own.  She couldn't even imagine the suffering he must have been going through, and she chastised herself everyday for having not noticed it sooner. 

 

The least she could do now was finish setting up for his party. She was determined to make sure he felt happy, safe, and loved.

 

Frankie struggled to hang the final balloon up in the living room. It was just barely too high up for her. She was about to get something to stand on when a familiar voice rang through her ears. 

 

“Need some help?”

 

_ Hunter! _

 

Frankie turned around to see her twin standing in the doorway. He had a shy smile on his face as he looked at her. Frankie wasn’t used to seeing this look on his face. He usually outwardly appeared confident, no matter what he was feeling inside. But for once, he was letting his guard down.

 

She stood frozen in place for a few seconds, looking him up and down as the balloon fell to the floor, forgotten. He was  _ finally  _ here, finally home. Knowing he was coming home and actually  _ seeing _ him were two different feelings. She stood speechless, staring at him as a wide smile broke across her face.

 

Once her brain caught up to her eyes, she dashed across the room, wrapping him up in a tight hug, which he graciously returned, even picking her up for a second as the two were finally reunited. 

 

“You’re home!” It was the only thing Frankie could think of to say, and even though it was muffled by the fabric of Hunter’s shirt, he still heard it. 

 

“I’m not leaving again, Frankie. I’m staying here,” he assured her, just as elated as she was. 

 

“How do you feel?” She asked. There were so many things she needed to catch Hunter up on, but for now, she just wanted to focus on him.

 

“So much better,” he admitted. “I had forgotten what it was like to be happy, or at least not pissed off all the time.” Frankie was beaming with pride, which made Hunter all the more enthusiastic. He wanted his family to be proud of him, but for some reason, her opinion mattered so much, even if he sometimes tried to pretend it didn’t.

 

“I’m glad...And I’m glad you’re home. It felt weird, not hearing you wander out to the kitchen at 3 AM to get more soda so you could stay awake playing video games longer,” she laughed, but the sincerity was still there.

 

“And I missed having to come tell you to eat breakfast every morning because you couldn’t decide what to wear and would show up late,” he teased back.

 

“Are you excited for your party?” She asked him. 

 

“Yeah. I mean, I guess a bit nervous, but I feel really good now, Franks. I’m really glad I got help. And...I’m sorry.” The final part of his though confused Frankie, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

 

“You’re sorry? For what?”

 

“For not being around. I know you’re having a tough time, and I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you. There was only so much I could do from inside those four walls. And I’m sorry I left you at such a weird point in our lives, with Dad moving out not long ago and all.” Frankie’s confusion didn’t seem to subside.

 

“There’s no need to be sorry, Hunter. I’m glad that you got help. I missed you, don’t get me wrong, but I’d rather have had you recovering away from me than suffering by my side. Really, I should be apologizing. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you, or notice something sooner. I had no idea you were going through so much.”

 

“Nobody did, it’s okay. _ I  _ didn’t even realize it.” Hunter assured her. He held no resentment towards her, or anyone else for that matter.

 

“I’m your twin though, I  _ should _ have noticed,” she tried to argue, but it fell on deaf ears as Hunter wouldn’t accept it.

 

“I’m here now, and that’s all that matters. And like I said, I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me,” he said, lightening the mood as his sister giggled. She was about to say something, but she was cut off by their mother’s entrance.

 

“Oh, my Peanuts! I hate to cut your reunion short, but Hunter, you’re friends will be here soon, so you should both make sure you’re ready!” she smiled at her children. Diana had felt a sense of loss when the twins had stopped hanging around each other as much, but it warmed her heart to see that there had been no change in the love between the two. 

 

The two pulled apart at their mother’s request and went off to their respective rooms to finalize their appearances for the gathering.

 

* * *

 

Hunter sat on his bed that night-  _ his actual bed _ , the day’s events rolling through his mind. The party had been a success, and he was glad there was no resentment between the four. He’d seen Yael a few times while he was in the hospital, but it was the first time in two months he’d seen Baaz or Vijay. However, once they’d gotten over the initial awkwardness, it had felt like no time had passed as they played various games once again. 

 

He’d thought the day had been perfect, but it wasn’t over yet, as he found out when he heard the soft knock on his door. He knew before it even opened who it was.

 

“Come in!” The door opened, and Hunter was proven right as Frankie stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

 

“Hi,” she said, and now it was her turn to smile shyly at him. 

 

“Hey,” he replied, moving over so she could sit next to him, an offer she accepted. 

 

“Did you like your party?”

 

“Yeah, it was great. Thank you for all the planning you did.”

 

“Of course, I’m glad you had fun,” she said before placing a wrapped package in his hands. “I got you something, but I wanted to wait until after the party to give it to you.”

 

Hunter took the package with a smile, unwrapping it with care. His face lit up as he saw what the contents were. It was a sketchbook, but attached was an art set, complete with colored pencils, gel pens, drawing pencils, and erasers that wouldn’t leave any smudges. Hunter looked up at her in awe, holding the gift gently.

 

“I thought you might get bored...not having a computer and all, and I know you like to draw, and you’re  _ really  _ good, and I- I hope you like it,” she trailed off, suddenly feeling worried that he wouldn’t like it. To her excitement, however, he gently put the art set down and pulled her into a hug for the second time that day. 

 

“I love it, really. Thank you, Frankie.” The two smiled at each other.

 

“I’m glad you’re home, Hunter. I missed you.”

  
“I missed you too.”


End file.
